U.S. Sending 4 Million AstraZeneca Vaccine Doses to Mexico and Canada
If they want them, they can have them.
Millions of people in several countries have received the AstraZeneca vaccination, with just under 50 developing blood clots soon after. Because millions of people around the world develop blood clots each year, the numbers aren’t high enough to show causation, and there hasn’t been any such development in clinical trials.
Still, people are worried. Several nations stopped administering the vaccine only to restart at a later date.
The U.S. has millions of doses in storage but has not yet approved it for use. Now we’ll start sharing with other nations that have approved it.
The United States plans to send roughly 4 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine that it is not using to Mexico and Canada in loan deals with the two countries. Mexico will receive 2.5 million doses of the vaccine and Canada will receive 1.5 million doses.
The Biden administration has come under pressure from allies worldwide to share vaccine, particularly from AstraZeneca, which is authorized for use in other countries but not yet in the United States.
AstraZeneca has millions of doses made in a U.S. facility, and has said that it would have 30 million shots ready at the beginning of April.
The deal to share the vaccine, which is still being finalized, does not affect President Joe Biden’s plans to have vaccine available for all adults in the United States by the end of May, the official said. The deal is likely to be announced publicly in the coming days.
Two officials said the vaccine would be delivered in “short order” once the deal was completed, but they declined to give a more specific timetable.
The “releasable” vaccines are ready to be used once they arrive. Under the deal, the United States will share doses with Mexico and Canada now with the understanding that they will pay the United States back with doses in return. The official said that would take place later this year.
Meh…maybe we won’t ask them to give any back.
